Tape playing musical instrument



March 12, 1957 c s 2,784,632

TAPE PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Nov. 24, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheetl f INVENTOR.

I H/S 1477 0194057.

March 12, 1957 c s 2,784,632

TAPE PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed NOV. 24,,1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z7 Z5 Z5 1 LOUD A AMPLIFIER PEAKER f JNVENTOR.

BY l

United States Patent TAPE PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Donald Christ, Collingswood, N. J.

Application November 24, 1953, Serial No. 394,098

4 Claims. (Cl. 84--1.28)

This invention relates to a tape playing musical instrument, and particularly to such an instrument adapted to reproduce the sounds of an individual musical instrument by manipulation of the keys of a conventional piano keyboard.

Within recent years, many attempts have been made to reproduce the sounds of various musical instruments by magnetically recording such sounds on reels or tapes and incorporating these elements into an apparatus adapted to amplify these sounds in a controllable sequence. Thus, an apparatus of this type has in some instances taken the form of a piano keyboard electron ically connected to record elements in combination with various electrical elements, control units, amplification circuits and loud speaker systems.

While these apparatus performed the function for which they were intended, they possessed certain inherent disadvantages which rendered their use, for the most part, impractical. In particular, some of these instruments have been extremely complicated, containing intricate electronic circuits, and have been embodied in such great volumetric proportions as to result in prohibitive costs. It has further been found that in some of these instruments, and particularly in those employing the conventional recording tape, that the tapes have been incorporated in these instruments in such a way as to render them prone to damage or failure.

The present applicant has devised a tape playing musical instrument of the general type aforesaid which overcomes the many disadvantages which are characteristic of existing instruments of this type. This he has done by the expedient of a record cylinder having the separate tones of a given musical instrument recorded thereon, which cylinder is rotatably mounted on a motor driven cylindrical member cooperating therewith. The musical tones from these record cylinders are transmitted by means of electrical pickups to an amplifier system for amplification through a loud speaker.

In the production of these record cylinders it is not feasible to record the instrumental tones directly on to the cylinder, since it is difiicult, if not impossible, to cause the end of the act of recording to coincide with the beginning. That is, it is difilcult to avoid a duplicate record on at least a portion of the circumference of the cylinder.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, this difiiculty is avoided by magnetically producing a rec- 0rd of indefinite length on conventional recording tape. A piece of this tape is then cut and secured about the surface of the cylinder so that the ends meet accurately, after which rotation of the cylinder in cooperation with the electrical pickups and sound reproducing means produce a continuous tone.

it is an objective of this invention, therefore, to provide an improved tape playing musical instrument.

It is another objective of this invention to provide an improved tape playing musical instrument which is simple in structure and relatively compact.

It is a further objective of this invention to provide a tape playing musical instrument having a novel tape recorded cylinder which protects the tape from damage.

It is still a further objective of this invention to provide a tape playing musical instrument which may be manipulated through a conventional piano keyboard.

A further objective of this invention is to provide a tape playing musical instrument which is relatively inexpensive.

Another objective of this invention is to provide a tape playing musical instrument adapted to reproduce a continuous and true tone of a given musical instrument.

Various other more detailed objectives and advantages of this invention, such as arise in connection with carrying out the above noted ideas in a practical embodiment, will in part become apparent and in part be hereinafter stated as the description of the invention proceeds.

The invention, therefore, comprises a musical device for playing the notes of various standard musical instruments that are recorded on endless tapes, which tapes are mounted on a holl w cylinder rotatably mounted on a motor driven cylindrical member. The said cylinder with the tapes thereon is mounted below a conventional piano keyboard with each key thereof carrying .a pickup member for transmitting the tones of the musical instrument to an amplifier system for amplification through a loudspeaker. There is one of these keys for each tape contained on the record cylinder and it is through this mechanical manipulation of the electrical pickups that the basic objective of simplicity is achieved.

For a fuller, more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the tape playing musical instrument of this invention in perspective, showing the various elements thereof in exploded relationship.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the record cylinder and keyboard elements associated therewith, with parts broken away, showing the comparative relationship. of the keyboard to the record cylinder.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the keys of the keyboard, showing the electrical pickup mounted therein and extending therebeneath, which pickup is adapted to transmit instrumental tones from the tapes to the amplifier.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line t of Fig. 2, showing the record cylinder mounted on the motor driven cylindrical member, and illustrating the relationship of one of the keys and its electrical pickup with regard to the record tape carried thereby.

Figure 5 is a sectional view with parts broken away, taken along the line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a schematic view illustrating the wiring diagram associated with the keyboard electrical pickups for transmitting the instrumental tones from the tapes to the amplifier and loudspeaker.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. l and 2, the present invention consists of a hollow record cylinder 10 which is slidably mounted on a rotatable cylindrical member 11 which is driven by a motor 12, and connected thereto by a shaft 13 extending longitudinally through said cylindrical member ll. The cylin drical member 11 is supported horizontally by support members 14 and 15, the support member 15 being hingedly mounted on its base 16 so that it may be made to lie in a substantially horizontal position to permit the insertion of the record cylinder on the cylindrical member 11. Cooperating with the record cylinder 10 so as to transmit recorded tones thereon to an amplifier is a keyboard referred to in its entirety by the letter K. 'The said keyboard consists of a number of keys 1? and 18 under which are mounted electrical pickups 19 for transmitting the sound from the record cylinder 10 to an amplifier.

The record cylinder 10 is made from an electrically insulating non-magnetizable material such as Bakelite and the like. This cylinder 10 is provided on its external surface with a plurality of circumferential ridges 2t spaced longitudinally about the axis of said record cylinder 10. Individual notes from a particular musical instrument are recorded on a strip of conventional magnetic record ing tape and a strip thereof is cut to proper size, equivalent to the circumference of the record cylinder it) taken about the external surface thereof, and said strip is then carefully secured to the surface of said record cylinder by means of a suitable adhesive, in between adjacent external ridges 2! as shown at 21 in Fig. 5. It is important, at this point, to note the particular structure of the record cylinder 16 and the advantage to he gained therefrom. I have reference to the provision of the external ridges 29 on the record cylinder and the incorporation of the recording tape strips therebetween. This particular feature is designed to overcome the disadvantages of the recording tape tearing or becoming otherwise disfigured during the use of the instrument, and also the said ridges prevent axial movement of the tapes during operation of the instrument.

The record cylinder 14) is provided with a keyway 22 which is adapted to slidably engage with a longitudinal key 23 extending outwardly along the surface of the cylinder member 11. This cylinder member 11 is preferably made from aluminum for the sake of lightness of weight.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the structure of the keyboard keys is shown as consisting of a conventional piano key having an electrical pickup 19 fixedly mounted therein, which pickup has an electrical pickup element 24 mounted therein, the said element having lead wires and 26 connected thereto and adapted to be connected to an amplifier.

The keyboard is provided with a separate key pickup element for each tape strip 21, and the keyboard is mounted directly above the said record cylinder so that each key lies above a separate tape strip between the ridges 20, as shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6.

In use, the number of tape strips which are secured to the record cylinder 10 will vary depending upon the number of octaves of a given musical instrument which one desires to reproduce. Having secured the tapes about the record cylinder 1%, between the ridges 20, the said cylinder 19 is slidably inserted over the cylindrical member 11 so that the key 23 lies in sli-dable engagement with the keyway 22, so as to prevent relative motion of the record cylinder it with the cylindrical member 11. The thus assembled cylinder combination is rotatably driven by the motor 12. When it is desired to reproduce a given tone the instrumentalist need merely depress any one of the keys 17 or 18, as desired. Upon depression of said keys, the electrical pickup 19 makes a'surface contact with the tape 21 having the instrument tone magnetically recorded thereon. At this point the different magnetic characteristics of the tape induce an electrical current of proportional characteristics in the element 24 of said pickup, which current is transmitted by means of leads 25 and 26 to an amplifier for amplification to andible sound through a loudspeaker. This operation is depicted diagrammatically in Fig. 6, wherein the leads 25 are shown as being directly connected to an amplifier 27, which amplifier has connected thereto a loudspeaker 28. The amplifier 27 is provided with a power plug 28:: and two power intake wires 29, in one of which latter a cut-off switch 30 is provided. i

It is to be understood that the amplification of the current, modulated by the pickups 19, and the reproduction of sounds by a loudspeaker will follow the usual practice, and to that extent conventional amplification and loudspeaker apparatus will be used. The highest possible fidelity of reproduction should be provided in order to most realistically simulate the actual tones of the various musical instruments recorded; and accordingly, it is extremely important that all extraneous sounds be eliminated during the initial recording of the individual instrumental tones on the tape strips.

The entire apparatus described above may be housed in a console in the nature of a spinet piano cabinet, thus providing a self-contained and readily movable instrument.

With an instrument of the type described it is readily seen that one may reproduce the scales of a given musical instrument and with these scales play any musical rendition by the mere mechanical manipulation of a piano keyboard, and at the same time it is a simple matter to play any musical instrument by merely changing the record cylinder 10 in accordance with the particular instrument desired. It may also be possible to record the scales of two instruments on one record cylinder 1 by recording the note of one instrument on one-half of the magnetic tape, while a note from another instrument is recorded on the other half of the magnetic tape; thus, the instrumentalist may change from one instrument to the other merely by reversing the position of the record cylinder 10 on the cylindrical member 11 and shifting the said cylinder axially on said cylindrical member so that the second recorded portion of the tape lies beneath the pickups l9.

An alternate arrangement would be to include two record cylinders carrying tapes of diiferent instruments, and to suitably gear the said cylinders together, providing the keys l7 and 18 with an additional pickup l9, positioned' so as to operate cooperatively with the second record cylinder. Thus it may be possible to reproduce the sounds of two musical instruments at one time. In addition, power for the driving motor may be transmitted to the record cylinder combination through a worm gear drive to insure a more positive drive, and eliminate any retarding effect on the motor due to excess pressure on the record cylinder.

From the above description it is seen that a tape recording musical instrument is provided which is simple, compact, and economical. Simplicity is achieved by the use of mechanical contacting of the tapes with electrical pickups, wherein the intricate electronic equipment such as solenoids and the like, which have been employed in prior art devices, have been eliminated. A corresponding reduction in size and weight has also been achieved. in addition, by the novel record cylinder arrangement for supporting the tape strips and the novel external construction thereof, particularly the external ridging, the life of the average tape is increased materially; a truer tone reproduction is also achieved. Thus, a novel musical instrument is provided which employs the principle of tape recorders, and which is adapted to reproduce sounds generated by musical instruments of almost all types.

Although the present description of this invention has been limited to the above-described preferred embodiment, other variations thereof are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore not intended that the invention be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but only to the inventive concept as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A musical instrument comprising a non-magnetizable cylindrical member, external circumferential ridges on said cylindrical member, a plurality of recording tape strips adhesively carried about the surface of said cylindrical member between adjacent ridges, the said tape strips lying beneath the uppermost point of said adjacent ridges so as to be protected thereby, each of said tape strips having a separate note of a musical instrument recorded thereon, means for rotatably driving said cylindrical member, a plurality of piano keys adjacent to said cylindrical member and lying in spaced relationship with said tape strips, electrical pickups carried on the underside of said keys and adapted for transmitting the recorded notes from said strips on physical contact therewith, the said physical contact being made through the manual depression of said keys, and an audio system electrically connected to said pickups for audibly amplifying said recorded notes.

2. A musical instrument comprising a cylinder, a longitudinal ridge on the external surface of said cylinder, a shaft carried by said cylinder and extending axially therethrough, supports for said shaft, a motor connected to said shaft for rotatably driving said cylinder, an electrically insulating non-magnetizable hollow cylinder slidably mounted on said first cylinder, the said hollow cylinder being provided with a longitudinal groove on its internal surface Which receives said longitudinal ridge to prevent relative movement of the said cylinders, external circumferential ridges on said hollow cylinder, a plurality of recording tape strips adhesively secured to the external surface of said hollow cylinder between adjacent ridges, the said tape strips lying beneath the uppermost point of said adjacent ridges so as to be protected thereby, each of said tape strips having a separate note of a musical instrument recorded thereon, a plurality of piano keys adjacent to said cylindrical member and lying in spaced relationship with said tape strips, electrical pickups carried on the underside of said keys and adapted for transmitting the recorded notes from said strips on physical contact therewith, the said physical contact being made through the manual depression of said keys, and an audio system electrically connected to said pickups for audibly amplifying said recorded notes.

3. A musical instrument comprising a cylinder, a longitudinal ridge on the external surface of said cylinder, a shaft carried by said cylinder and extending axially therethrough, supports for said shaft, a motor connected to said shaft for rotatably driving said cylinder, an elec trically insulating non-magnetizable hollow cylinder slidably mounted on said first cylinder, the said hollow cylinder being provided with a longitudinal groove on its internal surface which receives said longitudinal ridge to prevent relative movement of the said cylinders, external circumferential ridges on said hollow cylinder, a. plurality of recording tape strips adhesively secured to the external surface of said hollow cylinder between adjacent ridges, the said tape strips lying beneath the uppermost point of said adjacent ridges so as to be protected thereby, each of said tape strips having a separate note of a musical instrument magnetically recorded thereon, a plurality of piano keys adjacent to said cylindrical member and lying in spaced relationship with said tape strips, electrical pickups carried on the underside of said keys and adapted for inducing electrical currents thereinto by the magnetic portions of said tape strips on physi cal contact therewith, the said physical contact being made through the manual depression of said keys, and an audio system electrically connected to said pickups for audibly amplifying said recorded notes.

4. A musical instrument comprising a generally horizontal cylindrical member, means mounting said cylindrical member for axial rotation, a plurality of annular recording elements circumposed about said cylindrical member at longitudinally spaced locations along the latter, each of said recording elements having a separate note of a musical instrument recorded thereon, a plurality of finger keys arranged in side-by-side relation over and extending transversely of said cylindrical member each adjacent to a respective recording element and mounted for selective movement toward and away from their respective recording elements, an electrical pickup element fixed on the underside of each of said keys for movement therewith into and out of sound pickup relation with the respective recording element, and an audio system electrically connected to said pickup element for audibly amplifying the sounds picked up by said pickup elements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,213,804 Cahill Jan. 23, 1917 1,218,324 Severy Mar. 6, 1917 2,549,145 Vagtborg Apr. 17, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 900,405 France Sept. 21, 1951 

